


Shadows

by Jacrispea



Category: Far Cry 5
Genre: F/M, Friendship, One Shot, Sharing a Bed, Unrequited Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:15:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24589693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jacrispea/pseuds/Jacrispea
Summary: The oh-so-cliche "there's only one bed!" story but with unrequited love.
Relationships: Friendship - Relationship, John Seed/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 18





	Shadows

**Author's Note:**

> Background on Ali - she is one of Jacob's Chosen, currently assigned to John's Ranch.

"John, seriously… get Jacob in here with you and let me have my bed back," Ali complained. She stood with her arms crossed, watching John pull back the covers of his oversized bed. "Or put him on the couch."

"Miles is on the couch," John reminded her. "Is this really such a big deal to you? You're up my ass most days anyhow."

He stepped back from the bed and placed his tattooed fingers on his hips. A look of annoyance turned the corners of his lips.

"Please, like you don't like it," Ali shot back. This whole thing was ridiculous and straight out of a cliche romance novel, except there was no romance and the man she would be sharing a bed with, had been getting on her nerves all day. He acted differently when Jacob was near, she noticed; and not in a good way. She sighed and tilted her head back dramatically. "Fiiine."

Huffing, she slid her jacket off and threw it on the floor in the corner of the room. She bent down and untied the laces of her boots quickly, just wanting to get to bed already. 

"Alison."

Ali whipped around, boots still in hand. "Don't call me that. You know I hate it."

John rolled his eyes slightly but corrected himself. "Ali… you can place your items on the chair rather than.."

She tossed her boots on the heap of clothing she was adding to with a defiant stare. When he didn't try to correct her behaviour again, she stripped her jeans off and added them with the rest before she climbed into bed and pulled the blanket over her torso. Quietly, she stared at the ceiling. 

Ali hated change to her routine, which was an unfortunate trait for one of Jacob's Chosen to have. Regardless, she couldn't change it, even if she tried. Things had been quiet on the ranch and laid back. Hell, even John had seemed much more at ease. But the second Jacob stepped foot on the grounds with some lackluster excuse of checking on John and his security, her norm was flipped upside down. So much so that she was now sharing a bed with the youngest Seed, even though she knew Holly would disapprove wholeheartedly. John of course, never saw her as anything other than one of the guys, she was sure of that. 

She however, couldn't say the same for him. 

"Ali," John spoke gently as he slid into the bed next to her after changing into his pinstriped pajama bottoms. "I know you enjoy your space but it's one night. You won't even know I'm here." 

Her attention focused on the shadows the bedside lamp left on the ceiling. There was something unsettling about the way they clung to the corners of the room. It was as if they threatened to creep down the walls and envelope her in their darkness if she let her guard down. 

_Breathe deep._ She could hear Jacob's voice ring through her mind, instructing her to calm down as he normally did when she lost her cool. 

_Breathe._

"I'm sorry," Ali said quietly. "I'm in a terrible mood today."

"You don't say."

She glanced over, ready to slap at John's arm, when she noticed his naked torso peeking from under the blanket. He laid casually on his side, watching her. Ali felt her cheeks run hot. 

"Can you turn the light out please?" she asked, changing the subject. She pulled her attention back to the oblong shadow that seemed to disappear the longer she stared at it and swallowed hard. 

A moment later, the room darkened and a weary sigh echoed through the room. 

For once, it wasn't hers. 

\---

Ali dreamt of white wolves, and enormous silver snails. She dreamt of flightless ravens with wriggling headless snakes in their claws and giant fish that moved without water. They danced around the exterior of the church as if on some invisible mechanically stage that imprisoned them to their course. 

Round and round. Slow, than fast. Fast, than slow again. 

She dreamt of wine being passed to the members of the flock as they watched Joseph present his sermon. Of music she had never heard before ringing out so loudly, it deafened her to the words he spoke. And she dreamt of John - half naked on the altar at the front of the church, next to his brothers. He clasped his slender fingers around his throat as his face reddened beneath the force he placed on his own windpipe. She screamed to him but her scream rose to join the voices of the choir and soon, everything was drowned out but the sound of John's own terror. 

She woke with a start, clutching her knees to her chest as she sat abruptly. Ali shook her head, trying to clear the sound of John's pained screams before she realized it wasn't the echo of her dream she heard. 

At her side, the outline of his body curled into itself as he clawed at the pillow beneath him. His screams turned to whimpers as she placed a hand on his shoulder, trying not to startle him.

When he didn't wake, she laid herself next to him and pulled his body to hers the best she could, keeping her voice low as she tried to wake him. "John. John, it's okay…" 

He woke with a jolt, pushing against her chest and scrambling out of her arms. Even in the darkness, she could see his eyes blown wide. 

"John," she tried again. Her fingers slid across the sheets and found him again. "John, it's okay. You were dreaming."

A moment passed before his voice emerged from the darkness. "Alison?" 

She cringed but bit her tongue and let out a low "shh."

"I.. I was…"

"It's okay," she assured him again. Her arms wrapped around his bare shoulders before she could think twice and closed the distance between them again. Against her, John's body tensed. He rested a cheek against her chest. "It was just a dream."

"I haven't had one in ages," he admitted, nuzzling his face against the fabric of her t-shirt. 

She nodded as she stroked his hair that was now a mess atop his head. There was no doubt he had nightmares. 

It was known by all of the Chosen how Jacob was riddled with them, himself. The unspoken rule was to stay quiet, though Ali had of course broken that rule. At her insistence, he had admitted most of his dreams weren't about the war as she had suspected, but his childhood and the hardships he and his family faced. It only made sense for John to experience the same, she told herself. 

"You've been through so much, but that's over now John. Nothing can hurt you now."

Her fingers continued to part his hair, running through the length of it and down his neck and over his shoulders. After a few minutes of silence, she felt his muscles relax and his body melt into her touch. 

"Thank you," he murmured as he brought an arm around her waist. His fingertips ran abstract patterns over her lower back. "You've always been my light at the end of the tunnel."

Ali blinked, unsure of what to say. Her heart raced at his touch and she knew in her heart if it weren't for Holly, she'd have kissed him then and there. 

She patted a hand over his shoulder and moved out of his embrace, rolling onto her back. Beside her, John remained close but pulled his hands back below the blanket and to his sides. 

Neither said another word but soon John's breathing grew heavy and she knew he was sleeping again. Ali smiled weakly as she brought her fingertips to hover over his cheek, but pulled back before they could feel the warmth of his skin against them. 

Sighing, she laid back and stared at the place where the shadows had been.


End file.
